Query planning and execution with source and sink operators

ABSTRACT

A system for query planning and execution with source and/or sink operators is provided. In some implementations, the system performs operations comprising identifying a plurality of operators for executing a query, allocating space in memory for storing data when a second operator comprises a collection operator for collecting the data, generating at least a portion of the data based on executing a first operator, and providing the data (e.g., access to the data) to another operator which occurs after the first operator. In some implementations, a query plan for execution of the query can be generated to include the first operator and exclude the collection operator. Related systems, methods, and articles of manufacture are also described.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates to database management, and more particularly, query planning and execution with source and/or sink operators.

BACKGROUND

Database management systems have become an integral part of many computer systems. For example, some systems handle hundreds if not thousands of transactions per second. On the other hand, some systems perform very complex multidimensional analysis on data. In both cases, the underlying database may need to handle responses to queries very quickly in order to satisfy systems requirements with respect to transaction time. Given the complexity of these queries and/or their volume, the underlying databases face challenges in order to optimize performance.

SUMMARY

In some aspects, a method, computer program product and system are provided. In an implementation, a database execution engine is provided. The database execution engine can include (or otherwise utilize) a processor and/or memory, which can be configured to perform operations including identifying a plurality of operators for executing a query, the plurality of operators including a first operator and a second operator. The operations can further include allocating space in memory for storing first data when the second operator comprises a collection operator for collecting the first data, and/or generating a query plan for execution of the query, the query plan comprising the first operator and excluding the collection operator. The operations can further include generating at least a portion of the first data based on executing the first operator, and/or providing the first data to another operator which occurs after the first operator in the query plan.

The query can be received from an application separate from the database execution engine, for example. In some variations, the operations can further include determining whether the second operator is of a specific operator type, and allocating the space in memory can be in response to determining that the second operator is of the specific operator type (e.g., a collect operator). In some variations, the operations can further include storing the first data in the memory, and providing the first data for the another operator can include providing access to the memory. In some variations, the first data can be removed from the memory after it is consumed by the another operator. In some aspects, the first operator can be included in a first query execution pipeline and/or the another operator can be included in a second query execution pipeline which begins at, or after an end of, the first query execution pipeline. In some implementations, the first data comprises a data table.

In some implementations, at least a portion of the plurality of operators can be split among a plurality of pipelines including a first pipeline and a second pipeline. The plurality of pipelines can be executed in a determined order to (e.g., ultimately) generate results responsive to the query. Executing the first pipeline can comprise iteratively generating one or more blocks of data based upon operations contained within the first pipeline and/or storing the one or more blocks as intermediate results for the second pipeline. The second pipeline can perform similar operation and/or use the intermediate results. In some aspects, the database execution engine can be configured to provide query optimization of the query plan and/or select other execution engines to handle certain queries.

Implementations of the current subject matter can include systems and methods consistent with the present description, including one or more features as described, as well as articles that comprise a tangibly embodied machine-readable medium operable to cause one or more machines (e.g., computers, etc.) to result in operations described herein. Similarly, computer systems are also described that may include one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors. A memory, which can include a computer-readable storage medium, may include, encode, store, or the like one or more programs that cause one or more processors to perform one or more of the operations described herein. Computer implemented methods consistent with one or more implementations of the current subject matter can be implemented by one or more data processors residing in a single computing system or multiple computing systems. Such multiple computing systems can be connected and can exchange data and/or commands or other instructions or the like via one or more connections, including but not limited to a connection over a network (e.g. the Internet, a wireless wide area network, a local area network, a wide area network, a wired network, or the like), via a direct connection between one or more of the multiple computing systems, etc.

The details of one or more variations of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. While certain features of the currently disclosed subject matter are described for illustrative purposes in relation to an enterprise resource software system or other business software solution or architecture, it should be readily understood that such features are not intended to be limiting. The claims that follow this disclosure are intended to define the scope of the protected subject matter.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, show certain aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein and, together with the description, help explain some of the principles associated with the disclosed implementations. In the drawings,

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a system for query planning and/or execution, in accordance with some example implementations;

FIG. 2 depicts example query execution flow diagrams with and without pipelining, in accordance with some example implementations;

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of an example query planning procedure, in accordance with some example implementations;

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of an example query plan, in accordance with some example implementations;

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of another example query plan, in accordance with some example implementations;

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of an example computing apparatus, in accordance with some example implementations; and

FIG. 7 depicts an example of a method for database query planning and/or execution, in accordance with some example implementations.

When practical, similar reference numbers denote similar structures, features, or elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Database management systems and operations performed on the data managed by a database management system have become increasingly complex. For example, a database management systems (or database for short) can support relatively complex online analytical processing (OLAP, which can perform multi-dimensional analysis) to more straightforward transaction based online transaction processing (OLTP). Moreover, the database may be configured as a row-store database or column store database, each of which may have certain aspects with respect to queries and other operations at the database. For example, the database may encode data using dictionaries, while some databases may not. In addition to these various databases layer differences, the queries performed at a database can comprise a complex sequence of operations in order to generate corresponding responses. To implement the complex sequence, a query execution plan (or query plan for short) may be implemented. The query plan represents a sequence of operations, such as instructions, commands, and/or the like, to access data in the database. The database may also include a query plan optimizer to determine an efficient way to execute the query plan.

From an application or client perspective, it can be extremely cumbersome to access databases. For example, an application may need to query different types of databases using complex queries. As a consequence, the application layer in this example would need to be configured to handle the various types of databases and the various query types. Additionally or alternatively, each database may need to process queries from the application into a format and structure that can be handled by the given database. Pushing complex operations and support for a variety of different database types to the application layer may contravene the need to have relatively lighter weight and/or readily deployable applications. On the other hand, pushing complex operations to the database layer where data is stored may draw processing and/or memory resources at the database and may thus reduce the performance and response times for queries on that database layer.

In some example implementations, there may be provided an execution engine that may decouple the higher-level, application layer from the database layer (e.g., the persistence or storage layer where data including database tables may be stored and/or queried using instructions, such as commands and/or the like). The execution engine may be implemented separately from the database layer and/or the application layer. Furthermore, the execution engine may be configured to receive a query, generate a query plan (including for example query algebra), optimize the query plan, and/or generate executable code, which can be executed at runtime. The executable code may include pre-compiled code (which can be selected for certain operations in the query plan) and/or code that is generated just-in-time specifically for execution of the query plan.

The execution engine may be configured to perform some operations itself, while the execution engine may send some operations (e.g., relatively basic commands, such as reads, writes, scans, and/or the like) to the database layer. Furthermore, the execution engine may receive corresponding responses from the database layer where data is stored/persisted and certain commands, such as reads, writes, scans, and/or the like, can be performed. The execution engine may perform more complex execution operations, such as rule-based operations including relatively more complex operations such as joins, projections, and/or the like, while accessing the database's storage/persistence layer when needed to read, write, update, and/or perform other operations.

The execution engine may be configured to support a wide range of database types to reduce, if not eliminate, the need for specialized execution engines for each type of database. For example, rather than having an execution engine for each type of database (e.g., an execution engine for an OLAP database, another execution engine for an OLTP database, an execution engine for a row-store database, an execution engine for a column-store database, and/or the like), the execution engine disclosed herein can perform query execution for a variety of database types and send queries to the different types of database layers (and/or their storage/persistence layer) and handle the corresponding responses.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a system 100 for query planning and/or execution, in accordance with some example implementations. As illustrated, the system 100 may include one or more user equipment 102A-N, such as a computer, a smart phone, a tablet, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, and/or other computer or processor-based devices. The user equipment may include a user interface, such as a browser or other application to enable access to one or more applications, database layer(s), and/or databases, to generate queries to one or more databases 190A-N, and/or to receive responses to those queries.

In the example of FIG. 1, the databases 190A represent the database layer of a database management system where data may be persisted and/or stored in a structured way, and where the data can be queried or operated on using operations including SQL commands or other types of commands/instructions to provide reads, writes, and/or perform other operations. To illustrate by way of an example, user equipment 102A-N may send a query via an execution engine 150 to the database layer 190A-B, which may represent a persistence and/or storage layer where database tables may be stored and/or queried. The query may be sent via a connection, such as a wired and/or wireless connection (e.g., the Internet, cellular links, WiFi links, and/or the like).

The database execution engine 150 may include a query optimizer 110, such as a SQL optimizer and/or another type of optimizer, to receive at least one query from a user equipment and generate a query plan (which may be optimized) for execution by the execution engine 112. The query optimizer 110 may receive a request, such as a query, and then form or propose an optimized query plan. The query plan (which may be optimized) may be represented as a so-called “query algebra” or “relational algebra.”

For example, SELECT Columns A and B, and perform an INNER JOIN on Tables A and B may represent a query received by the database execution engine 150 including the query optimizer 110. There may be several ways of implementing execution of this query. As such, the query plan may offer hints or propose an optimum query plan with respect to the execution time of the overall query. To optimize a query, the query plan optimizer 110 may obtain one or more costs for the different ways the execution of the query plan can be performed. The costs may be obtained via the execution interface 112A from a cost function 114, which responds to the query optimizer 110 with the cost(s) for a given query plan (or portion thereof), and these costs may be in terms of execution time at the database layer 190A-N, for example.

The query optimizer 110 may form an optimum query plan, which may represent a query algebra, as noted above. To compile a query plan, the query optimizer 110 may provide the query plan to the query plan compiler 116 to enable compilation of some, if not all, of the query plan. The query plan compiler 116 may compile the optimized query algebra into operations, such as program code and/or any other type of command, operation, object, or instruction. This code may include pre-compiled code (which can be pre-compiled and stored, and then selected for certain operations in the query plan) and/or just-in-time code generated specifically for execution of the query plan. For example, plan compiler may select pre-compiled code for a given operation as part of the optimization of the query plan, while for another operation in the query plan the plan compiler may allow a compiler to generate the code. The pre-compiled and generated code represent code for executing the query plan, and this code may be provided to the plan generator 118, which interfaces the query execution engine 112.

In some implementations, the query optimizer 110 may optimize the query plan by compiling and generating code. Moreover, the query optimizer 110 may optimize the query plan to enable pipelining during execution.

In some implementations, the query optimizer 110 may be configured to select other execution engines. For example, the query optimizer 110 may select via interface 112C an execution engine configured specifically to support a row-store database or an ABAP type database, or the query optimizer 110 may select via interface 112D an execution engine configured specifically to support a column-store type database. In this way, the query optimizer 110 may select whether to use the universal database execution engine 150 or legacy (e.g., database-specific) execution engines (available via interfaces 112C/D, for example).

The query execution engine 112 may receive, from the plan generator 118, compiled code to enable execution of the optimized query plan, although the query execution engine may also receive code or other commands directly from a higher-level application or other device, such as user equipment 102A-N.

The query execution engine 112 may then forward, via an execution interface 112B, the code to a plan execution engine 120. The plan execution engine may then prepare the plan for execution, and this query plan may include pre-compiled code 125 and/or generated code 127. When the code for the query plan is ready for execution during runtime, the query execution engine 112 may step through the code performing some of the operations within the database execution engine 150 and sending some of the operations (or commands in support of an operation, such as a read, write, and/or the like) to the execution engine application programming interface (API) for execution at one or more of databases layers 190A-N.

Table 1 below depicts an example of a query execution plan including a (1) TableScan (Filter X=1) and a (2) Materialization (Columns A, B). In this example, the TableScan would result in one or more calls via the execution engine API 199 to one or more of databases 190A-B. Specifically, the TableScan operator at Table 1 would result in a call for a dictionary look up for a value “X” and an indexvector scan with a valueid obtained from the dictionary look up, which results in a document ID list. Then for each document ID, a call is made via 199 to look up the value IDs for columns A and B. The value IDs may be used to look up dictionary values to materialize, the columns A and B including the actual data values for those columns.

TABLE 1 Operator Calls made on Database API 1) TableScan dictionary lookup for value “X” (Filter X = 1) indexvector scan with a valueid from the lookup, which results in a document ID (docid) list 2) Materialization For each docid, lookup value IDs (valueids) for (Columns A, B) columns A + B For the valueids, lookup dictionary value in dictionaries of A and B

In some implementations, the query execution engine 150 may, as noted, be configured to handle different types of databases and the corresponding persistent layers and/or tables therein. For example, the database 190N may be implemented as a row-oriented database, so that an insert is performed by adding a row with a corresponding row identifier, while another database 190A may be implemented as a column store database, which may use dictionaries and compressive techniques when inserting data into a table. In this example, the query execution engine 150 may perform execution related to handling the differences between these two types of databases. This may enable a reduction in processing at the database layer 190A-N. Moreover, the query execution engine 150 may perform other operations including rule-based operations, such as joins and projections, as well as filtering, group by, multidimensional analysis, and/or the like to reduce the processing burden on the database layer. In this way, the query execution engine 150 may execute these and other complex operations, while the database's persistence/storage layer 190A-N can perform simpler operations to reduce the processing burden at the database's persistence/storage layer 190A-N.

In some example implementations, the query execution engine 150 may run, as noted above, just-in-time code 127 generated for some query operations, while pre-compiled code 125 may be run for other operations. Moreover, the query execution engine 150 may combine the generated code 127 with precompiled code 125 to further optimize execution of query related operations. In addition, the query execution engine 150 may provide for a plan execution framework that is able to handle data chunk(s), pipelining, and state management during query execution. Furthermore, the query execution engine 150 may provide the ability to access table storage via an abstract interface to a table adapter, which may reduce dependencies on specific types of storage/persistence layers (which may enable use with different types of storage/persistence layers).

In some example implementations, the database execution engine 150 may be provided with at least one table adapter. In some example implementations, the table adapter may generate an object, such as a table object, which can be stored in cache with other code, objects, and/or the like awaiting runtime execution of the query. In some example implementations, and the table object can be opened, during query execution, to provide access to a table stored in the persistence layer of a database.

FIG. 2 depicts example query execution flow diagrams 200, 250 with and without pipelining, in accordance with some example implementations. As illustrated, the first query execution flow diagram 200 includes operators and table structures laid out in a hierarchical structure. The structure of the first query execution flow diagram 200 can be dependent upon the operators present within a query and/or tables utilized by the query. For example, as illustrated, operator Op₁ can be a function of operators Op₂ and Op₄ (e.g., a join, a hashjoin, or another function of two nodes). Operator Op₂ can be a function (e.g., a hashjoin) of table T1 and operator Op₃. Operator Op₃ can be a function of tables T2 and T3. For example, IX T3 can be an index lookup of table T3 and/or operator Op₃ can be a join of table T2 and the results of the index lookup on table T3. As illustrated, operator Op₄ can be a function of table T4 (e.g., a filter of table T4).

In some aspects, one or more of the tables T1-4 can be table scan operators. In some aspects, table scan operators can retrieve results from an underlying data table (e.g., a column store database/table), in a sequential manner, and/or based on one or more functions (e.g., filters). As illustrated, table T1 can be a table scan operator on an underlying table, based on functions F1-3. Although not illustrated, one or more of the remaining tables T2-4 can be table scan operators based on any number of filters (including zero).

In some implementations, the first query execution flow diagram 200 can be generated by translating a query into a (physical) algebraic expression and/or evaluating the query/expression. In some aspects, the first query execution flow diagram 200 can just be a visual representation of the query/expression, which may instead exist in the form of programming code. In some database systems, the first query execution flow diagram 200 can be executed through volcano style processing (e.g., via an iterator model), where each operator can produce a tuple stream from its input and/or allow for iterating over the tuple stream by repeatedly calling the next function of the operator. Accordingly, in some aspects, parent nodes in the first query execution flow diagram 200 can be regarded as “pulling” results from their child nodes. For example, in some aspects, the operator Op₁ may produce tuples by first repeatedly asking its left input (operator Op₂) for tuples, placing the received tuples in a hash table, repeatedly asking its right input (operator Op₃) for tuples, and/or probing the hash table for each tuple. The input sides could act in a similar manner, recursively asking for tuples from its child nodes and so on. However, although this approach can be simple to implement, it can consume more CPU than necessary (potentially thousands to even millions of times more than necessary), which can be due to poor cache locality (e.g., information which is necessary during execution is not present within and/or needs to be loaded into a cache) and/or complicated book-keeping (e.g., keeping track of intermediate results).

In order to reduce some of these inefficiencies, pipelining may be used. Pipelining can refer to the use of one or more operators which pass data to their parent operators without copying or otherwise materializing the data. As such, in some aspects, child nodes in the second query execution flow diagram 250 can be regarded as “pushing” results to their parent nodes. For example, instead of pulling tuples up, pipelined operators push tuples towards the consuming operators until the end of the pipeline. In order to decide which operators can be pipelined and/or the distribution of the operators among a plurality of pipelines, the query optimizer 110 (or some portion thereof), for example, can determine which, if any, of the operators in a query are “pipeline breakers.”

In some aspects, a pipeline breaker can refer to an operator that takes an incoming tuple out of a CPU register for a given input side and/or materializes at least a portion of (e.g., all) incoming tuples from the input side before continuing processing. In some aspects, pipeline breakers and/or the contents of a given pipeline can be determined on multiple factors, such as whether an operator will spill data out of a cache and/or over into memory (e.g., external to cache memory). For example, in some implementations, operator Op₁ and operator Op₂ can be pipeline breakers, and/or can be set as the final operations in at least one of the pipeline 251-253. In some implementations, other factors can be used to determine where pipelines start, end, and/or what operators each pipeline contain.

Whatever procedure for generating pipelines is used, as illustrated, a first pipeline 250 can be formed to include table T1 and operator Op₂, a second pipeline 252 can be formed to include table T4, operator Op₃, and operator Op₂, and/or a third pipeline 253 can be formed to include table T2, operator Op₄, operator Op₂, and operator Op₂. When execution reaches the end of a pipeline 251-253, results can be materialized and/or placed within a hash table for the pipeline-breaking operator. For example, the results of the first pipeline 251 can be materialized and/or placed within a hash table for operator Op₂, then the results of the second pipeline 252 can be materialized and/or placed within a hash table for operator Op₁, and then the results of the third pipeline 253 can be materialized and/or placed within a hash table for operator Op₂.

In some aspects, pipelining can be regarded as organizing a query into a hierarchical plan of operators, identifying a plurality of paths within the hierarchical plan (e.g., where each path includes an endpoint operator that lies within another path and/or is shared between two paths), generating and pushing one or more chunks of data up a first path to accumulate results at the endpoint, and/or generating and pushing one or more chunks of data up a second path to generate output results based on the accumulated results from the first path. Additional paths can be present and/or additional generation of chunks can occur, depending upon the query (e.g., depending on how many paths are required to pipeline the operators). In some aspects, a chunk of data can be regarded as generated data which is responsive to an operator, but does not contain all of the data required for execution of the query or the pipeline. However, in some implementations, depending upon the operator and/or portion of the database in question, a single “chunk” of data can contain all information responsive to a particular operator. For example, a scan of a small table may only require one chunk of data to be passed through a pipeline.

Non-pipelined query execution can be regarded as organizing a query into a hierarchical plan of operators, recursively calling a first child operator (and potentially its child operators) of the root node until all results of the first child operator are determined and/or stored, recursively calling a second child operator (and potentially its child operators) of the root node until all results of the second child operator are determined and/or stored, and/or processing the results of both child operators based on the root node after the results are determined and/or stored.

The use of pipelining can increase memory locality and/or reduce processing time/effort for database queries, as the number of memory accesses can be reduced. In some implementations, pipelining can take advantage or parallel processing systems and/or techniques. In some aspects, the first query execution flow diagram 200 and/or the second query execution flow diagram 250 can be regarded as at least a portion of a query execution plan. Additional processing and/or code generation can occur before or after the query execution flow diagrams 200, 250 are generated, which can help to optimize processing resources and/or reduce query execution time.

In some aspects, one or more of the query operators can utilize data/information which is generated by at least one other query operator. For example, one operator may access and/or combine information generated by a plurality of other operators that occur earlier in time. FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of an example query planning procedure 300, in accordance with some example implementations.

As illustrated, a query 305 can be received and/or processed to generate a query plan 390 for executing the query 305. One or more operator classes 310-350 can be generated and/or selected, based upon the query 305. At least a portion of the operator classes 310-350 can be used to build a query plan 390, based upon query plan building code 380. An operator class 310-350 can be regarded as a definition for one or more operators. An operator class 310-350 can be defined to include one or more attributes of a corresponding operator, such as an identifier for the operator, an indication of what type of operator the operator is, whether the operator is public, what inputs are required for the operator, what output(s) are produced, how the output(s) are produced, where the inputs are located, whether or not the inputs exist before execution time, and/or the like.

In some aspects, one or more of the operator classes 310-350 can define one or more of the precompiled operators 125 and/or code generated operators 127. Although the precompiled operators 125 and code generated operators 127 are illustrated within the query execution engine 112, they can be utilized during query plan generation and/or optimization. For example, the operator class 310 can define a precompiled operator 125, which is included in a query plan generated by the query optimizer 110 (or some portion thereof, such as the plan generator 118). In another example, the operator class 330 can define a code generated operator 127, which is included in a query plan generated by the query optimizer 110 (or some portion thereof). Other techniques for generating and/or utilizing operator classes 310-350 are possible.

The class definitions and the code for building the query plan can be defined based upon code, such as L programming language code of another type of code. Classes can define operators using different programming languages and/or include more or less information than what is described. For example, each class 310-350 can be defined to include any number of attributes (including zero), which can depend upon the query and/or operators processed/executed. Similarly, the code used for building a query plan can be in a different programming language and/or more or less code may be used for defining a query plan 390.

Each operator/class 310-350 utilized (e.g., accessed) by a query 305, can be analyzed to determine whether there may be any optimizations of the operators and/or the operators can be added to the query plan 390. Once the query plan 390 is generated, it may be provided to and/or executed by the query execution engine 112. Additionally or alternatively, executable code corresponding to the query plan 390 can be generated and/or provided to and/or executed by the query execution engine 112. In some implementations, one or more of the operator classes 310-350, at least a portion of the query plan building code 380, and/or at least a portion of the query plan 390 can be generated by processing the query 305.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of an example query plan 400, in accordance with some example implementations. As illustrated, the query plan 400 can include a plurality of operators 410-450, which, in some aspects, can be executed within one or more pipelines. The operators 410-450 can be similar to the operators of FIG. 1 and/or similar to the operators defined by the classes 310-350 of FIG. 3. For example, the operators 410-450 can comprise one or more operators, such as a scan, materialize, filter, group, group local, merge, group merge, join, hash join, table scan, and/or the like.

The query plan 400 (e.g., at least the illustrated portion) can begin at operator A 410, where a first portion of a data chunk 405 is created. This chunk 405 can be passed to operator B 420, which can generate a second portion of the chunk 405. Next, operation can proceed to operator C 430, where a third portion of the chunk 405 is generated. Once the three portions of the chunk are generated, operation can next proceed to operator D 440, which can store the chunk 405 in memory 490. In some aspects, the chunk 405 can be stored in the memory 490 along with other chunks generated during the execution of the query plan 400. After the chunk 405 is stored within the memory, it may be required by operator E 450. Operator E 450 can pull the chunk 405 from the memory 490 or the chunk 405 can be pushed to operator E 450.

In some implementations, the chunk 405 can be stored in a cache, and/or one or more of the operators 410-450 can operate on the chunk 405 in place. For example, operator A 410 can store a first column of data for the chunk 405 in a cache. In turn, operator B 420 can review the first column of the chunk 405 and/or generate a second column of data within the chunk 405. Operator C 430 can operate in a similar manner, generating a third column of data for the chunk 405 in place. Chunks of data can be continually generated through the execution of the query plan 400, which can be continually provided to operator D 440 for storage.

In some aspects, operator D 440 can be regarded as an operator which requires results from operator A 410, operator B 420, and/or operator C 430. For example, in some aspects, operator D 440 can include a collect operator, which is an operator that collects results from one or more previous operators and/or stores the collected results in memory 490. In some aspects, a collect operator can be an operator which deviates from receiving a chunk and outputting a chunk. For example, an operator which copies incoming chunks into a central data structure where it can be accessed by another operator can be regarded as a collect operator. An example of a central data structure can be a “state,” which can be a piece of data/information which is not known before execution, but will be generated and/or consumed during execution, and can be defined/allocated for storage as part of query planning.

In another example, operator D 440 can include a group by operator, which can group results from one or more previous operators and/or store the grouped results in memory 490. In some aspects, a group by operator can be an operator which makes incoming chunks available in a central data structure, computes hash values from at least some cells of the tuples/rows in incoming chunk(s), and/or maintains a map from the hash values to rows/tuples from the collected chunks. In some aspects, group by operators can be located at the end of a pipeline. In another example, operator D 440 can be an aggregation operation, which can be similar to a group by operator, but may additionally or alternatively aggregate some row/tuple cells alongside a hash value for other rows/tuples.

In yet another example, operator D 440 can be a compacting operator. As some chunks passing through a pipeline may be smaller in size than other chunks, compacting operators can be used to buffer multiple incoming chunks that are not optimally filled until a sufficiently filled chunk is stored/formed (or no more chunks are being passed through the pipeline). At this point, the larger chunk can be pushed through the pipeline and/or stored in memory. As described herein, a collect/collection operation can include a group by operator, an aggregation operator, and/or a compacting operator.

Whatever operator D 440 includes, its requirement for results from prior operators can require copying these results to generate an output, which can be copied into memory and/or later provided to another operator, such as operator E 450, for example. In some aspects, this copying can be in addition to the generation and/or storage of the results performed by the prior operators (e.g., operators A-C 410-430). Therefore, some operators, such as operator D, can require an extra copying operator, which can be computationally expensive. In some implementations, operators A-D 410-440 can be regarded as being part of a first pipeline and/or operator E 450 can be part of another pipeline. Thus, the methods described herein can provide solutions for reducing the cost of providing results from one pipeline to another.

Instead of passing chunks 405 through a pipeline for storage at the end of the pipeline, portions of the chunks can be stored in a pre-determined location as they are generated. For example, FIG. 5 depicts another block diagram of an example query plan 500, in accordance with some example implementations. The query plan 500 can be similar to the query plan 400 of FIG. 4. However, the query plan 500 can instead allocate/utilize a memory location for earlier storage of results.

During generation of the query plan 500, operator D 540 can be identified as requiring results from one or more of the prior operators in the query plan 500, and/or the query optimizer 110 (or some other component/procedure) can allocate memory for storing the results of the prior operators as they are generated. Thus, operator D 440 may not need to copy these again, saving at least one copy operation per chunk. For example, if operator D 440 is identified as being a specific type of operator, then a “sink” 590 can be allocated for storage of the results of operator D 440. However, instead of allowing operator D 540 to copy results into the sink 590, at least a portion of the preceding operators 510-530 can provide results for the sink 590. In some aspects, the sink 590 can include memory, such as locations in a heap memory, which are allocated for storing (at least temporarily) results of operators as they are generated, rather than using a separate operator for collecting and/or storing the results. Portions of the stored results can be small enough to fit within a cache (e.g., similar to the chunks), but the entire allocation for the sink 590 may be larger than what can fit (at least practically) within the cache.

In some implementations, operator D 540 can include information regarding which operators it requires data from and/or what data it needs for operation (e.g., what it needs from each). In some implementations, the sink 590 can be an operator which is aware of locations in memory for storage of the results. Accordingly, the operators A-E 510-550 may not need to be aware of the physical location of memory for storing the results, as the sink 590 operator can handle this information itself. For example, operator C 530 can provide results to the sink 590, and/or the sink 590 can handle the storage of the results. In some implementations, the operators A-C 510-530, for example, can receive or include (e.g., can be generated based upon a class definition to include) a pointer to memory areas for input/output when they are called, and/or the pointer(s) can point to a memory location which is included within the sink 590.

In some aspects, the sink 590 can handle/process requests for retrieval of data from memory (e.g., the sink 590 can function as a “source” operator). For example, if operator D 540 includes a compacting operator, a combined source and sink 590 can be allocated to store incoming chunks and/or generate larger chunks. When a sufficiently large chunk is formed (or no more chunks are being input), the sink 590 can operate as a source for the new/larger chunk. Doing so can avoid additional memory copies.

In the illustrated implementation, operator D 540 may have been identified as requiring results from operator A 510, operator B 520, and operator C 530. In turn, the sink 590 can be allocated within memory, and space for results of operators A-C 510-530 can be provided. When operator A 510 executes, it can store its results in a designated portion of the sink 590 (e.g., a first column or row of results). Operator A 510 can additionally or alternatively pass a chunk containing the results to operator B 520, or control/operation may simply pass to operator B 520, which knows how to find the results generated by operator A 510 (e.g., based upon one or more pointers). Operator B 520 can utilize the received chunk and/or access the sink 590 to obtain information required for performing its designated operator(s). Results of operator B 520 can be stored within the sink 590 and/or a chunk that may be provided to operator C 530. Operator C 530 can similarly use the chunk and/or the sink to receive the information it needs and/or write its results. In some implementations, operator A 510 and operator B 520 can add information to a chunk that is provided to the next operator, and only operator C 530 (e.g., the last operator in a pipeline or a chain of operators) writes the results of the collective operators A-C 510-530 to the sink 590. In some implementations, operators A-C 510-530 can repeat and produce results within the sink 590 and/or chunks passed among the operators until all required data is generated/retrieved. Thereafter, control can be passed to another pipeline.

After the results are stored in the sink 590, other operators can access the information, such as operator E. In this regard, the sink 590 can also provide a “source” of data/results. In some aspects, operators A-C 510-530 can be regarded as part of a first pipeline, and operator E 550 can be regarded as part of a second pipeline. Thus, the first pipeline can store information in memory (e.g., the sink 590) for subsequent access by the second pipeline. In this manner, a first and/or a second pipeline can share information with each other through the use of a sink/source, which can increase memory locality, decrease memory latency, and/or decrease processing time. The second pipeline and/or a subsequent pipeline can process data (e.g., in chunks) to form output results.

Allocating memory for the storage of results before the results are generated can simplify/expedite processing of a query, reduce the amount of memory accesses/copies required, decrease the processing resources required to execute a query, and/or decrease the processing time of a query. For example, in some implementations, a collect operator can be replaced (or never placed) within a query plan through the use of a sink. Therefore, instead of copying results for storage, the results can be stored in the sink 590 as they are generated.

At least a portion of the operators 510-550 and/or the sink 590 can be configured to store results within a cache. If the results remain in the cache, then a subsequent operator which accesses the cache does not need to preform additional steps and/or copy/determine the results itself. Doing so can increase memory locality. However, even if results are stored within a local memory (e.g., as opposed to a cache or a database, such as in a heap), then memory locality can still be increased during execution of a query, as a subsequent operator does not need to access the results from a database or recalculate the information contained in the results itself. In some aspects, the memory allocated within/by the sink 590 can be contiguous, which can help to increase memory locality and/or decrease the occurrence of cache misses. Additionally, controlling when results are generated, where they are stored, and/or how results are provided to subsequent operators can help to control when/how many memory/database accesses are made during query execution.

Although main memory, cache, heap, etc. are described, other portions of memory can be utilized. Although specific operators are described, such as scan, materialize, filter, group, group local, merge, group merge, join, hash join, table scan, etc., other operators are possible. Similarly, although specific data structures of states are described, such as tables, hash tables, chunks, sinks, sources, etc., other data structures are possible, such as maps, numbers, vectors, pointers, strings, handles, some combination thereof, and/or the like. Although several systems, methods, operators, procedures, etc. are described with respect to pipelining, one or more of the aspects described herein can be implemented outside of a pipeline.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example computing apparatus 600 which may be used to implement one or more of the described devices and/or components, in accordance with some example implementations. Similarly, the computing apparatus 600 may perform one or more of the processes described herein. In some aspects, at least a portion of the computing apparatus 600 can form at least a portion of the client user equipment 102A-N, the interfaces to other execution engines 112C-D, the database execution engine 150, and/or the databases 190A-N.

As illustrated, computing apparatus 600 may include one or more processors such as processor 610 to execute instructions that may implement operations consistent with those described herein. Apparatus 600 may include memory 620 to store executable instructions and/or information. Memory 620 may include solid-state memory, solid-state disk drives, magnetic disk drives, or any other information storage device. Apparatus 600 may include one or more network interfaces, such as network interface 640, which can be configured to communicate over wired networks and/or wireless networks. Wireless networks may include WiFi, WiMax, Bluetooth, and cellular networks (2G/3G/4G/5G), and/or any other wireless network. In order to effectuate wireless communications, the network interface 640, for example, may utilize one or more antennas, such as antenna 690.

Apparatus 600 may include one or more user interface, such as user interface 650. The user interface 650 can include hardware or software interfaces, such as a keyboard, mouse, or other interface, some of which may include a touchscreen integrated with a display 660. In various implementations, the user interface 650 can include one or more peripheral devices and/or the user interface 650 may be configured to communicate with these peripheral devices.

The apparatus 600 may also comprise an input and output filter 630, which can filter information received from and/or transmitted to a user interface 650, a network interface 640, and/or the like. The apparatus 600 may be powered through the use of one or more power sources, such as power source 670. One or more of the components of the apparatus 600 may be cooled off through the use of one or more heat sinks, such as heat sink 680. As illustrated, one or more of the components of the apparatus 600 may communicate and/or receive power through a system bus 699.

In some implementations, the computing apparatus 600 can be used to implement at least a portion of a database management system. In some aspects, a database management system may be a hardware and/or software system for receiving, handling, optimizing, and/or executing database queries. In some aspects, a database, as referred to herein, can be a structured, organized collection of data, such as schemas, tables, queries, reports, views, and/or the like, which may be processed for information. A database may be physically stored in a hardware server or across a plurality of hardware servers. In some aspects, a database management system may be a hardware and/or software system that interacts with a database, users, and/or other software applications for defining, creating, updating the structured data, and/or for receiving, handling, optimizing, and/or executing database queries.

For example, the computing apparatus 600 can provide one or more features of a high-level programming software system or other software that includes database management features. The computing apparatus 600 can also aggregate or otherwise provide a gateway via which users can access functionality provided by one or more external software components. One or more client machines can access the computing apparatus 600, either via a direct connection, a local terminal, or over a network (e.g. a local area network, a wide area network, a wireless network, the Internet, or the like).

The computing apparatus 600 can be configured to access a database that includes at least one table, which can in turn include at least one column. The database table can store any kind of data, potentially including but not limited to definitions of scenarios, processes, and one or more configurations as well as transactional data, metadata, master data, etc. relating to instances or definitions of the scenarios, processes, and one or more configurations, and/or concrete instances of structured data, such as objects that are relevant to a specific instance of a scenario or a process, and the like. The database can be external to the computing apparatus 600 or may be part of the computing apparatus 600 (e.g., at least partially stored in the memory 620). In some aspects, the memory 620 may be utilized to store at least a portion of a database and/or function as an in-memory database.

For example, a processor 610, a network interface 640, and/or a user interface 650 may be configured to receive and/or load a database table or other comparable data set, into the memory 620 (e.g., in response to receipt of a query instantiated by a user or computer system through one or more client machines, external software components, core software platforms, and/or the like).

FIG. 7 depicts an example of a method 700 for database query planning and/or execution, in accordance with some example implementations. At least a portion of the method 700 can be performed by a computing apparatus 600, which can form at least a portion of a database execution engine 150.

As illustrated, the method 700 can begin at operational block 710, where the computing apparatus 600, for example, can receive a query from an application separate from the database execution engine.

The method 700 can proceed to operational block 720, where the computing apparatus 600, for example, can identify a plurality of operators for executing the query, the plurality of operators including a first operator and a second operator.

The method 700 can proceed to operational block 730, where the computing apparatus 600, for example, can allocate space in memory for storing data when the second operator comprises a collection operator for collecting the data. In some aspects, the data can include a data table, a row of data, a column of data, and/or the like.

The method 700 can proceed to operational block 740, where the computing apparatus 600, for example, can generate a query plan for execution of the query, the query plan comprising the first operator and excluding the collection operator.

The method 700 can proceed to operational block 750, where the computing apparatus 600, for example, can generate at least a portion of the data based on executing the first operator.

The method 700 can proceed to operational block 760, where the computing apparatus 600, for example, can store the data in the memory. Memory can include a cache and/or heap memory, for example. In some implementations, providing the first data for the another operator comprises providing access to the cache and/or heap memory.

The method 700 can proceed to operational block 770, where the computing apparatus 600, for example, can provide the data to another operator which occurs after the first operator in the query plan. In some aspects, the first operator can be included in a first query execution pipeline and the another operator can be included in a second query execution pipeline which begins at, or after an end of, the first query execution pipeline. In some implementations, the data can be removed from the memory after it is consumed by the another operator.

In some implementations, at least a portion of the plurality of operators can be split among a plurality of pipelines including a first pipeline and a second pipeline. The plurality of pipelines can be executed in a determined order and/or generate results responsive to the query. Executing the first pipeline, for example, can comprise iteratively generating one or more blocks of data based upon operations contained within the first pipeline and/or storing the one or more blocks as intermediate results for the second pipeline.

In some implementations, method 700 can additionally or alternatively include the computing apparatus 600, for example, determining whether the second operator is of a specific operator type, and/or allocating the space in memory in response to determining that the second operator is of the specific operator type (e.g., a collect operator). In some aspects, a database execution engine can be configured to provide query optimization of the query plan and/or select other execution engines to handle certain queries.

In this way, the database execution engine 150 can perform complex operations which share information necessary for and/or produced by execution of a query, while also pipelining execution.

One or more aspects or features of the subject matter described herein can be realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry, specially designed application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof. These various aspects or features can include implementation in one or more computer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which can be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device. The programmable system or computing system may include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

These computer programs, which can also be referred to as programs, software, software applications, applications, components, or code, include machine instructions for a programmable processor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As used herein, the term “machine-readable medium” refers to any computer program product, apparatus and/or device, such as for example magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, and Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor. The machine-readable medium can store such machine instructions non-transitorily, such as for example as would a non-transient solid-state memory or a magnetic hard drive or any equivalent storage medium. The machine-readable medium can alternatively or additionally store such machine instructions in a transient manner, such as for example as would a processor cache or other random access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

To provide for interaction with a user, one or more aspects or features of the subject matter described herein can be implemented on a computer having a display device, such as for example a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED) monitor for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, such as for example a mouse or a trackball, by which the user may provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well. For example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, such as for example visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user may be received in any form, including, but not limited to, acoustic, speech, or tactile input. Other possible input devices include, but are not limited to, touch screens or other touch-sensitive devices such as single or multi-point resistive or capacitive trackpads, voice recognition hardware and software, optical scanners, optical pointers, digital image capture devices and associated interpretation software, and the like.

The subject matter described herein can be embodied in systems, apparatus, methods, and/or articles depending on the desired configuration. The implementations set forth in the foregoing description do not represent all implementations consistent with the subject matter described herein. Instead, they are merely some examples consistent with aspects related to the described subject matter. Although a few variations have been described in detail above, other modifications or additions are possible. In particular, further features and/or variations can be provided in addition to those set forth herein. For example, the implementations described above can be directed to various combinations and sub-combinations of the disclosed features and/or combinations and sub-combinations of several further features disclosed above. In addition, the logic flows depicted in the accompanying figures and/or described herein do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. Other implementations may be within the scope of the following claims.

The illustrated methods are exemplary only. Although the methods are illustrated as having a specific operational flow, the order of the operations may be altered, two or more operations may be combined into a single operation, a single operation may be performed in two or more separate operations, one or more of the illustrated operations may not be present in various implementations, and/or additional operations which are not illustrated may be part of the methods. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: at least one data processor; and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one data processor, result in operations comprising: identifying, by a database execution engine, a plurality of operators for executing a query, the plurality of operators including a first operator, a second operator, and a third operator, wherein the second operator is subsequent to the first operator but before the third operator; allocating, by the database execution engine and in response to the second operator being detected as a collection operator requiring a first data output of the first operator, space in memory for storing the first data, the collection operator indicating the space in the memory to capture the first data output by the first operator during execution of the first operator; generating, by the database execution engine and in response to the second operator being detected as the collection operator, a query plan for execution of the query, the query plan comprising the first operator and excluding execution of the collection operator; generating, by the database execution engine, at least a portion of the first data based on executing the first operator; and providing, by the database execution engine, the at least the portion of the first data stored in the allocated memory as an input to a third operator which occurs after the first operator in the query plan.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the query is received from an application separate from the database execution engine, and wherein the allocating the space in memory includes a data structure to serve as a sink to receive the first data output of the first operator and to serve as a source to provide the input to the third operator.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first operator is included in a first query execution pipeline and the third operator is included in a second query execution pipeline which begins at, or after an end of, the first query execution pipeline.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of operators are split among a plurality of pipelines including a first pipeline and a second pipeline, wherein the plurality of pipelines are executed in a determined order to generate results responsive to the query, and wherein executing the first pipeline comprises iteratively generating one or more blocks of data based upon operations contained within the first pipeline and storing the one or more blocks as intermediate results for the second pipeline.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: storing the first data in the memory, wherein providing the first data for the third operator comprises providing access to the memory.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first data is removed from the memory after it is consumed by the third operator.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: determining, by the database execution engine, whether the second operator is of a specific operator type comprising the collection operator, wherein allocating the space in memory is in response to determining that the second operator is of the specific operator type.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises a data table.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the database execution engine is configured to provide query optimization of the query plan and select other execution engines to handle certain queries.
 10. A method comprising: identifying, by a database execution engine, a plurality of operators for executing a query, the plurality of operators including a first operator, a second operator, and a third operator, wherein the second operator is subsequent to the first operator but before the third operator; allocating, by the database execution engine and in response to the second operator being detected as a collection operator requiring a first data output of the first operator, space in memory for storing the first data, the collection operator indicating the space in the memory to capture the first data output by the first operator during execution of the first operator; generating, by the database execution engine and in response to the second operator being detected as the collection operator, a query plan for execution of the query, the query plan comprising the first operator and excluding execution of the collection operator; generating, by the database execution engine, at least a portion of the first data based on executing the first operator; and providing, by the database execution engine, the at least the portion of the first data stored in the allocated memory as an input to a third operator which occurs after the first operator in the query plan.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first operator is included in a first query execution pipeline and the third operator is included in a second query execution pipeline which begins at, or after an end of, the first query execution pipeline.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of operators are split among a plurality of pipelines including a first pipeline and a second pipeline, wherein the plurality of pipelines are executed in a determined order to generate results responsive to the query, and wherein executing the first pipeline comprises iteratively generating one or more blocks of data based upon operations contained within the first pipeline and storing the one or more blocks as intermediate results for the second pipeline.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: wherein the operations further comprise: storing the first data in the memory, wherein providing the first data for the third operator comprises providing access to the memory.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first data is removed from the memory after it is consumed by the third operator.
 15. The method of claim 10, further comprising: wherein the operations further comprise: determining, by the database execution engine, whether the second operator is of a specific operator type comprising the collection operator, wherein allocating the space in memory is in response to determining that the second operator is of the specific operator type.
 16. A non-transitory computer program product storing instructions which, when executed by at least one data processor, causes operations comprising: identifying, by a database execution engine, a plurality of operators for executing a query, the plurality of operators including a first operator, a second operator, and a third operator, wherein the second operator is subsequent to the first operator but before the third operator; allocating, by the database execution engine and in response to the second operator being detected as a collection operator requiring a first data output of the first operator, space in memory for storing the first data, the collection operator indicating the space in the memory to capture the first data output by the first operator during execution of the first operator; generating, by the database execution engine and in response to the second operator being detected as the collection operator, a query plan for execution of the query, the query plan comprising the first operator and excluding execution of the collection operator; generating, by the database execution engine, at least a portion of the first data based on executing the first operator; and providing, by the database execution engine, the at least the portion of the first data stored in the allocated memory as an input to a third operator which occurs after the first operator in the query plan.
 17. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 16, wherein the first operator is included in a first query execution pipeline and the third operator is included in a second query execution pipeline which begins at, or after an end of, the first query execution pipeline.
 18. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of operators are split among a plurality of pipelines including a first pipeline and a second pipeline, wherein the plurality of pipelines are executed in a determined order to generate results responsive to the query, and wherein executing the first pipeline comprises iteratively generating one or more blocks of data based upon operations contained within the first pipeline and storing the one or more blocks as intermediate results for the second pipeline.
 19. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: storing the first data in the memory, wherein providing the first data for the third operator comprises providing access to the memory.
 20. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: determining, by the database execution engine, whether the second operator is of a specific operator type comprising the collection operator, wherein allocating the space in memory is in response to determining that the second operator is of the specific operator type. 